The Roswell Riddle is the first of two stories in Scooby-Doo #2, by DC Comics. It was followed by Stubble Trouble.
Premise[]
The town of Roswell, New Mexico, is being troubled by what seems to be a real alien. Distrust falls among Mystery Inc. as it can take different forms.
Synopsis[]
Mystery Inc. visits the town of Roswell, New Mexico, where they witness the city manager, Melvin Snug, stopping a race-related dispute between Flo Grange and Pueblo Biff Twobirds, fighting over a vending booth. Snug explains they are celebrating the Roswell incident, an event in 1947 in which an unknown object crashed in Roswell, with some believing it to be a UFO. According to Snug, an alien from the crash was recently discovered in a gold mine by miner Dusty McSharp.
Mystery Inc. attends Snug's speech he gives to the public. Suddenly, an alien appears, fires a paralyzing ray at Snug, and kidnaps him, escaping on a space shuttle. Mystery Inc. follows the alien to the gold mine, where they briefly encounter it before it gets away, destroying the lights. Searching the mine, they find McSharp, who confirms that he found an alien while digging the mine. McSharp allows Mystery Inc. to continue searching the crime scene for clues.
Because the alien purportedly had the ability to disguise itself as humans, Mystery Inc. begin turning on each other, accusing each other of being the alien in disguise. After Scooby stops them from fighting, Velma finds a schedule of the alien's attacks. They also find the alien's shuttle, which is able to fly thanks to a transparent balloon and propeller, which would be invisible in the dark. Lastly, they find an alien costume and decide to use it to trap the alien.
Shaggy and Scooby lure the monster into view, only to find there are two identical aliens, holding onto Snug. Fred, disguising himself as an alien using the spare costume, appears to the two aliens. The aliens, as well as Snug, believe him to be a real alien and attempt to retreat, but Velma turns on the shuttle's propellers, blowing them to the ground.
The aliens turned out to be Grange and Twobirds, with Snug acting as an accomplice. The three perpetrators collaborated to fabricate an alien attack to bring tourists to Roswell. They faked Snug's kidnapping, with Snug pretending to be affected by the aliens' "paralyzing ray," and created the narrative that the alien can disguise itself as humans because Twobirds was caught in his alien costume. After the three culprits are handed over to authorities, Mystery Inc. learns that McSharp has retired from mining and has taken over Grange and Twobirds' vending booth instead.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Dusty McSharp (only appearance)
Villains:
- Aliens (only appearance)(Pueblo Biff Twobirds & Flo Grange's disguises)
- Pueblo Biff Twobirds (only appearance)
- Flo Grange (only appearance)
- Melvin Snug (only appearance)
Other characters:
- Tourists (only appearance)(no lines)
- Police officers (only appearance)(miscellaneous speaking)
Locations[]
- Roswell, New Mexico
- Gold mine
- Dusty McSharp's stand
- Minnesota (mentioned)
- Coolsville (mentioned)
- Albuquerque (mentioned)
Objects[]
- Alien's ray gun
- Light bulb (destroyed)
- Fred's lantern
- Transparent balloon
- Alien costume
- Dollar notes
Vehicles[]
- The Mystery Machine
- Alien's shuttle craft
Suspects[]
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Pueblo Biff Twobirds | He wanted Flo Grange's vending booth for more space. |
| Flo Grange | She wanted Pueblo Biff Twobirds's vending booth for more space. |
| Melvin Snug | He was so impressed with how many tourists had come to Roswell this year. |
| Dusty McSharp | He claimed he was the first person to see the alien. |
Culprits[]
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Pueblo Biff Twobirds and Flo Grange disguised as aliens Melvin Snug |
To attract more tourists to Roswell. |
Full credits[]
The following credits try to match how they are displayed in the comic as much as possible:
- Story: Terrance Griep
- Art: Ernie Colón
- Letters: P. Felix
- Colors: Trish Mulvihill
- Edits: Bronwyn Taggart
Continuity[]
- Velma calls Shaggy by his real name of Norville, first used in the A Pup Named Scooby-Doo episode The Sludge Monster from the Earth's Core.
Notes/trivia[]
- Shaggy trusts Velma with his "hepness," which could be insinuated as romantic feelings towards her.
Miscellaneous[]
- Disguises: Fred as an alien.
- Traps: Fred disguises himself as an alien to scare the perpetrators.
- Clues: A schedule of planned alien attacks, the aliens' shuttle, and a spare alien costume.
- Scooby Snacks bribe: 0.
- "Ruh-roh" count: 1.
- "Zoinks" count: 1.
- "Jeepers" count: 0.
- "Jinkies" count: 1.
Cultural references[]
- Shaggy says he and Scooby should split like Roseanne's pantyhose, an apparent joke about comedian and actress Roseanne Barr.
- Shaggy thinks he's stuck in "Charlotte's Web", which before this story, was a book adapted into an animated film by Hanna-Barbera.
- Velma and Daphne use Star Trek terms when using the faux alien shuttle craft.
Coloring mistakes[]
- None known.
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]
- None known.
Quotes[]
Velma: How do we know the alien isn't disguised as one of us? |